english
1
general::
strike out (somewhere)
to start on a long or difficult journey in a determined way
• In heavy rain, we struck out across the field.
• She struck out for the opposite bank., strike (sb) out
[ M ]
to fail three times to hit the ball successfully in baseball and therefore to lose one of your team's chances to score, or to cause someone to do this
• The pitcher struck out both batters in the ninth inning and saved the game., strike sb down
[ M often passive ]
If someone is struck down, they die suddenly or start to suffer from a serious illness
• It's a tragedy that these young people were struck down in their prime.
• He was struck down by polio when he was a teenager., strike up sth
to start a relationship or conversation with someone
• He gets really jealous if his girlfriend strikes up a friendship with another man.
• It can be difficult to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger., strike on/upon sth
to discover or think of something
• She struck on the idea for her novel while she was travelling in Russia., strike out
FAIL
2. US informal to be unsuccessful
• I really struck out with her - she wouldn't even kiss me goodnight., strike back
to attack someone who has attacked you , strike sth down
[ M ] US legal
to rule that a law is illegal and should not be obeyed
• The courts struck down local segregation laws because they violated the federal constitution., strike sth out/through
[ M ]
to draw a line through text in a document to show that it does not relate to you or is not correct
• Please strike out whichever option does not apply to you., strike out
START
1. to start doing something new, independently of other people
• After working for her father for ten years, she felt it was time to strike out on her own.
Cambridge-Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
In addition to the idioms beginning with STRIKE, Also see GO OUT (ON STRIKE); HAPPY MEDIUM, STRIKE A; LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE; ON STRIKE; TWO STRIKES AGAINST.
American Heritage Idioms
3
general::
verb hit/attack sb/sth ADV. firmly, hard He struck her hard across the face. | deep The German army struck deep into northern France. | directly | repeatedly | home (often figurative) The remark struck home. VERB + STRIKE be ready to, prepare to PREP. against The oar struck against something hard. | at He struck at me repeatedly with a stick. | into He struck the ball firmly into the back of the net. | on The ball struck her on the head. come into your mind suddenly/give an impression ADV. immediately | suddenly It suddenly struck me how we could improve the situation. | just An awful thought has just struck me. | forcibly Joan was struck quite forcibly by the silence. PREP. as He struck me as being rather stupid. go on strike VERB + STRIKE threaten to | vote to PREP. against, for The union has voted to strike for a pay increase of six per cent. | in protest at PHRASES the right to strike, noun industrial protest ADJ. long | short | indefinite | crippling, damaging, major | bitter | official | illegal, unofficial, unlawful | protest | token, warning | lightning, wildcat a series of lightning strikes in parts of the coal industry | all-out, general, mass, national, nationwide A general strike brought the country to a standstill. | hunger | sit-down | political | sympathy The suppression of the strike led to sympathy strikes in other industries. | pay, rent | dock, dockers', miners', postal, train, etc. QUANT. series, wave VERB + STRIKE be on | come out on, go on, join, take part in | call (sb out on), organize, stage The union leaders called a strike. He called all the workers out on strike. | avert, prevent | threaten More train strikes are threatened. | begin, start | call off, end | break (up), crush The army was used to help break the strike. | settle | ban The new government banned strikes. STRIKE + VERB occur, take place | start | end | last | spread The strike soon spread to other cities. | paralyse sth The strike paralysed the port. STRIKE + NOUN action Prison officers are threatening to take strike action. | ballot, call, threat | leader | breaker | committee, movement PREP. during a/the ~ There was a continual police presence during the strike. | ~ against a strike against the employment of non-union labour | ~ by a strike by tax collectors | ~ for a strike for a ten-hour day | ~ in protest at a strike in protest at the government's economic policies | ~ in support of Miners staged a one-day strike in support of the steel workers. | ~ over a strike over wages PHRASES days lost in/through strikes Unofficial action accounted for 40% of the days lost through strikes last year. sudden military attack ADJ. air, military, nuclear | pre-emptive | retaliatory VERB + STRIKE carry out, launch, make PREP. in a/the ~ The house was damaged in an air strike. | ~ against/on The aircraft carried out a pre-emptive strike against bases in the north.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
4
general::
strike
verbs
be (out) on strike
• Teachers are on strike again this week.
go on strike/come out on strike
(= start a strike )
• An estimated 70,000 public sector workers went on strike.
begin a strike
• Dock workers began a 24-hour strike last night.
call a strike
(= tell people to strike )
• The union threatened to call a strike.
stage a strike
(= organize a short strike )
• Health workers will stage a two-day strike next week.
end/call off a strike
(= decide not to continue with it )
• The strike was called off two days later.
break a strike
(= force workers to end it )
• Attempts to break the strike failed.
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + strike
a one-day/two-week etc strike
• A three-day strike is planned for next week.
an indefinite strike
(= with no end planned )
• Workers at the processing plant have begun an indefinite strike.
a long strike
• Most teachers wouldn’t be in favour of a long strike.
a general strike
(= when workers from most industries strike )
• They threatened to call a general strike.
a national/nationwide strike
(= all over the country )
• In April 1984 the National Union of Mineworkers called a national strike.
an all-out strike
British English (= when all the workers in a factory, industry etc strike )
• The dockers voted for an all-out strike.
a rail/coal/postal etc strike
(= affecting the rail/coal etc industry )
• A rail strike would cause enormous public inconvenience.
a miners’/teachers’/pilots’ etc strike
(= by miners, teachers etc )
• The transport workers’ strike inflicted serious damage on the economy.
an unofficial strike
(= not organized by a trade union )
• Some workers had been sacked for taking part in unofficial strikes.
a wildcat strike
(= without any warning )
• Legislation to curb wildcat strikes will be introduced during the coming parliamentary session.
an all-out strike
(= in which all the workers have stopped working completely )
• The company faces an all-out strike next month.
a bitter strike
(= with angry feelings between workers and managers )
• The miners finally returned to work at the end of a long, bitter strike.
a damaging/crippling strike
(= having a bad effect on an industry )
• The company now faces the prospect of a crippling strike.
strike + NOUN
strike action
(= a strike )
• Hospital workers have voted in favour of strike action.
a strike call
(= when a group asks people to strike )
• The ANC estimated that more than 4,000,000 people heeded its strike call.
a strike ballot
British English (= when workers vote on whether to strike )
• The union is going to hold a strike ballot.
COMMON ERRORS
>>> Do not say ' go on a strike '. Say go on strike .
transnet.ir
5
general::
strike
[ countable ] a period of time when a group of workers stop working because of a disagreement about pay, working conditions etc:
• A teachers’ strike has been announced for next week. • The rail strike has resulted in major delays on roads across the country.
industrial action
[ uncountable ] British English activities such as strikes, or doing less work than usual, as a way of trying to persuade an employer to improve pay, conditions etc:
• Lecturers voted to take industrial action over their workload. • Prison officers have threatened industrial action.
stoppage
[ countable ] British English , work stoppage American English a short strike, especially one that lasts for one day:
• Customs officers will return to work today after a twenty-four hour stoppage.
go-slow
[ countable ] British English a period of time when a group of workers deliberately work more slowly than usual as a way of protesting about pay, conditions etc:
• The hospital go-slow comes into effect tomorrow. • The union carried out strikes and go-slows in support of a wage claim.
Longman-Thesaurus
6
general::
noun
walkout:
The strike lasted for six weeks.
verb
hit:
I saw her strike him twice.
verb
remove:
Strike that from the record.
verb
discover:
We hope we will strike oil.
Simple Definitions